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[Game] Chapter 273: The Parents' Dinner Outing
🕑 Added 2025-06-29 17:56:05 +0000 UTCFive minutes later, Eriri arrived at the starting line for the three-legged race along with her classmate.
In the crowd, Sayuri Sawamura, holding her camera, shouted loudly,
“Eriri, you can do it!!!”
Hearing her mother’s cheer, Eriri visibly flinched.
Her teammate immediately noticed and whispered, “Eriri, are you nervous?”
“N-Nope! You’re overthinking it. I’m not nervous at all!”
After giving a not-so-convincing denial, Eriri placed her arm on her partner’s shoulder and said,
“It’s about to start. Get ready.”
“Okay, okay!”
“On your marks—!”
Bang!
As soon as the starter pistol fired, all the pairs took off running.
But in a three-legged race, it was nearly impossible to run at normal speed. Sure enough, after just a few steps, two teams lost coordination and fell flat on the track in their rush to go faster.
Eriri glanced at the fallen teams but didn’t dare look too long. She focused all her attention forward, shouting out a synchronized rhythm with every step.
In the crowd, Ichin and Utaha were both holding up their phones, recording the race.
Aside from Eriri’s very first practice session, neither of them had seen her train. But watching her now, it was clear she’d been putting in real effort—her timing and pace were excellent.
She didn’t take the lead, but she and her partner stuck close behind the top two teams, maintaining a steady third-place position.
The two girls surged forward with full force, trying to close the gap with the leaders. But the front-running team had clearly trained just as hard, refusing to give them a chance to overtake.
In the end, amidst all the cheers and encouragement, the first-place team crossed the finish line, with Eriri’s pair holding strong in third.
As soon as the band tying their legs together was removed, Eriri collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
“So exhausting! Way more than when I was practicing with Yukino!”
From behind came a familiar voice.
“Well, sorry my training was so exhausting.”
Hearing Yukino’s deadpan tone, Eriri sprang to her feet and turned to her, slightly panicked.
“Yukino, thank you so much for the special training! We got third place!”
She lunged forward for a hug, but Yukino blocked her with the two bottles of sports drinks she was holding.
Eriri laughed and took the drinks, handing one to her teammate.
That petite girl had also gotten closer to Yukino over the past week.
She’d come to realize that, like Eriri, this beautiful upperclassman had a cool exterior but a warm heart.
“Thank you, Yukinoshita-senpai,” she said sincerely, taking a sip of her drink.
Then, turning to Eriri, she added,
“Eriri, let’s go. We need to receive our award.”
“Oh right, the ceremony!”
Eriri quickly screwed the cap back onto her drink and, after saying a quick goodbye to everyone, ran off with her teammate to the award area.
Ichin, Utaha, and Sayuri naturally followed, snapping photos of the medal presentation to preserve the memory.
With that, everyone had finished all of their events for the day. The only things left were the long-distance races and a relay-style item pick-up walk. From here on, they could relax as spectators.
On the spectator stands, Mrs. Yukinoshita sat with Yukino, quietly chatting while watching the long-distance race on the track.
No one knew exactly what they were discussing, but from the gentle smile on Yukino’s face and how she kept talking without pause, it was clear their mother-daughter conversation was going well.
Ichin glanced at them briefly, then turned his gaze toward Haruno, who was sitting next to him and Utaha.
“Haruno-san, aren’t you going to join your family’s conversation?”
“Hm? No need.”
Haruno casually waved her hand and replied, “Mom’s usually really busy, and ever since Yukino started living on her own in high school, they’ve barely had time to talk like this. Besides, I’d never bring up anything outside of work with her—or she’ll start trying to set me up with marriage prospects. I’m only 20, still in college, I’m not planning to end up like _Shizuka.”
…Wow.
As expected of Haruno—you still managed to roast Hiratsuka-sensei out of nowhere.
Ichin looked around and spotted Shizuka Hiratsuka maintaining order on the field before he commented,
“If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you say that again when Hiratsuka-sensei walks over here?”
“Hmph, what do you take me for?”
Haruno had also noticed Shizuka and smugly added, “I know what Shizuka’s like. No way I’m saying that to her face. She’s got it rough enough already—we just roast her behind her back, that’s good enough.”
“…"
Ichin couldn’t even be bothered to respond.
---
By 4:30 in the afternoon, Toyogasaki Academy’s Spring Sports Festival came to a smooth conclusion with the principal’s announcement.
After changing back into their school uniforms, Ichin and Utaha walked out of the school building, just about to meet up with his mom when a message popped up on his phone.
“Ichin, us parents are going out for dinner tonight. You kids can handle your own meals. After dinner, we’re getting a facial treatment, and then I’ll come back with Utaha’s mom later.”
“…"
Reading the message together, Ichin and Utaha exchanged glances.
“I’m willing to bet that wasn’t my mom’s or your mom’s idea,” Ichin said.
Utaha nodded in agreement.
“I think so too. It was probably Aunt Sayuri. But what surprises me is that even Yukino’s mom, who doesn’t seem very sociable, is joining them… Just goes to show how persuasive Aunt Sayuri really is.”
“So, what should we do now?”
After a short pause, Utaha pulled out her phone and called Yukino.
“Hey, Yukino? What’s your plan for the evening? …Oh, so you already heard too. If you’re heading home, then let’s all go to your place. We’ll pick up some groceries on the way and cook dinner together. Alright, it’s decided—let’s meet at the school entrance.”
Hanging up, she linked arms with Ichin and smiled.
“Let’s go, Ichin. We’re eating at Yukino’s tonight. But you’ll probably have to help me cook.”
“Sure. If we work together, it won’t take long.”
When they reached the school entrance, they saw Yukino, Haruno, and Eriri already waiting for them.
Eriri was frowning down at her phone with a clearly frustrated expression. When she noticed Ichin and Utaha, she immediately asked,
“Are we going straight to Yukino’s? Or do you want to stop by the studio first?”
Ichin waved his hand.
“No need. Let’s just hit the supermarket and get the ingredients. We’ll stop by the studio tomorrow. Haruno-san, did you drive today?”
“Nope~ We’re all counting on your car, Ichin-kun.”
Even with five people, they could still all squeeze into his car just fine with three in the back.
“Alright then, let’s head out. Let the adults enjoy their girls’ night—we’ll have our own fun.”
...
